Mark Your Calendar
November comes early with David Mamet's election satire at the Alley
Editor's Note: As part of CultureMap's State of the Arts series throughout the month of August, we are highlighting upcoming fall arts events you won't want to miss.
Even though the 2012 presidential race hasn't officially started, it seems like it's gone on forever. But as the saga continues, there's time for comic relief in November as acerbic playwright David Mamet puts his two cents in on America's fractured political system.
The play, which premiered on Broadway in 2008 to mixed reviews, unfolds one day before a national presidential election, when President Charles Smith faces poll numbers "lower than Gandhi's cholesterol" in his quest for a second term.
The play unfolds one day before a national presidential election, when President Charles Smith faces poll numbers "lower than Gandhi's cholesterol" in his quest for a second term.
Mamet, who made a very public conversion to the Republican Party in 2008 and is a neoconservative favorite, tackles subjects of civil unions, gambling casinos, lesbians, American Indians, presidential libraries, questionable pardons of Thanksgiving turkeys and campaign contributions in the one-hour, 45-minute play.
"We can't build the fence to keep out the illegal immigrants," the president's fake chief of staff tells his boss at one point. "We need the illegal immigrants to build the fence."
Expect an evening of acerbic wit and thought-provoking discussion from Mamet, whose hit plays include Glengarry Glen Ross, Oleanna, American Buffalo and Speed-the-Plow.
November opens Aug. 29 on the Alley Theatre's Neuhaus Stage and runs through Sept. 23. Previews begin Aug. 24. For more details, click here.